Author 




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Book 




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me. 



Title 



Imprint 



16—27179-1 



State of Connecticut 



Forest Fire Manual 



CONNECTICUT LAWS 



RELATING TO FORESTS 



1912 



STATE FORESTER 
STATE FOREST FIRE WARDEN 

NEW HAVEN. CONNECTICUT 



PART I. 



PREVENTION AND CONTROL 



OF 



FOREST FIRES. 



SAMUEL N. SPRING, 

STATE FORESTER. 

WALTER O. FILLEY, 

ASSISTANT STATE FORESTER. 



OFFICE AT 

CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 

New Haven, Connecticut. 



CONTENTS 



PART I 

Prevention and Control of Forest Fires. 

Page 
Instructions to Fire Wardens 3-18 

Duties of Selectmen 18-21 

" Mayors of Cities 21 

" Justices 21, 22 

" Prosecuting Officers 22, 23 

Instructions to Town Treasurers 23 

Present Conditions and Needs 23-27 

PART II 

Connecticut Laws relating to Forests 29-50 



nr 28 W7 



PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF 
FOREST FIRES. 



INSTRUCTIONS TO FIRE WARDENS. 

1. In order to perform his duties intelligently and 
efficiently each warden must be thoroughly familiar 
with the laws relating to forest fires. These instruc- 
tions supplement the laws and explain them; they 
will be of assistance to fire wardens in their work 
and must be closely followed. 

APPOINTMENTS. 

2. A town fire warden is appointed by the select- 
men of the town subject to approval by the State 
Forest Fire Warden. Every warden will receive a 
written appointment (Form A) signed by the select- 
men and the State Fire Warden. The term of office 
is for one year, dating from January i. Town fire 
wardens are under the supervision of the State 
Fire Warden and are held responsible by him for the 
prevention and control of forest fires in their respec- 
tive towns. Each town fire warden is directed to 
divide his town into as many forest fire districts as 
are deemed necessary to insure adequate protection 
of all woodland in the town, and to appoint one 
resident in each district a fire warden. There should 




not be over ten districts in one town; the present 
average is four. 

In towns having a consolidated town and city 
government where the boundaries and limits of said 
town and city are the same, the chief of the fire depart- 
ment of the city is, ex officio, town fire warden, and 
possesses all the powers and is subject to all the 
duties of town fire warden. 

3. A district fire warden is appointed by the 
town fire warden for one year, dating from January 
1, and receives written appointment (Form B). In 
case a town fire warden is reappointed and desires to 
keep the same district wardens, he must without fail 
reappoint each district warden. All district wardens 
are requested immediately upon appointment to fill 
out and sign the acceptance form, forwarding it 
promptly to the State Forest Fire Warden, New 
Haven, Conn. No bill for district warden expenses 
can be recognized as legal, nor can supplies be sent 
out, unless the acceptance is on file in the State 
Fire Warden's office. Within the territory assigned 
to him the district fire warden is held responsible by 
the town fire warden for faithful discharge of duties 
and protection of woodland from fires. 

DUTIES AND POWERS OF WARDENS. 

4. It is the duty of town and district fire wardens 
to prevent and extinguish forest fires in their respec- 
tive towns and enforce the laws relating to the pro- 
tection of forest and timber land from fire. Wardens 



have the right to arrest violators of these laws with- 
out warrant if taken in the act and bring them before 
a justice of the peace for immediate trial. 

The law states that in case of a fire the warden 
shall attend forthwith and use all necessary means 
to confine and extinguish it; wardens may summon 
assistance of any male resident between 18 and 50 
years of age and may require the use of horses and 
other property needed for the purpose. Refusal to 
assist, unless the person is physically unable, or to 
furnish equipment required, is punishable by fine. 

Wardens have control and direction of all persons 
and apparatus while engaged in extinguishing forest 
fires. 

The law provides that during a season of drought 
the town warden may establish a fire patrol in his 
town. Plans for such patrol should be submitted to 
the State Forest Fire Warden for approval. 

The issuing of permits is one of the duties of fire 
wardens. (See p. 7, Permits.) 

The law requires that wardens post fire warning 
notices in their respective towns. 

PREVENTION OF FIRES. 

5. Personal Warning: Most fires result from 
carelessness in throwing down lighted matches, cigar 
and cigarette butts, or burning brush under bad con- 
ditions and in the heat of the day, leaving fires 
untended or unextinguished, etc. Wardens should 
caution people in their districts to be careful, especi- 



6 

ally so if the season becomes dry. Let it be under- 
stood that the laws will be enforced and violations 
prosecuted. 

In many towns in the state foreigners have settled. 
They should be warned concerning fires and the laws 
explained. Pick out one who understands English; 
make him understand the laws and tell him to inform 
the rest. 

6. Posting of Notices: Since it is important that 
everyone should know the laws, the town should be 
thoroughly posted with cloth warning notices sent 
out to town fire wardens by the State Fire Warden. 
These should be renewed as they wear out or when 
changes in the law require such renewal. According 
to an opinion of the Attorney-General, it is legal to 
post these notices on public shade trees ; i. e., trees 
within highway limits. Wardens should obtain evi- 
dence for the prosecution of anyone who destroys or 
injures one of these notices. Such a person is liable 
to a fine of ten dollars. 

7. Arrest and Prosecution: Do not fail to 
arrest persons taken in the act of violating the fire 
laws. One good object lesson creates a new and 
wholesome respect for the fire laws in communities 
where carelessness and disregard of laws has existed. 
If a forest fire results from violation of any of the 
fire laws and proper evidence is obtainable, place this 
at once in the hands of your grand juror or other 
prosecuting officer and request that the party be 
arrested and prosecuted. Report all such matters at 






once to the State Fire Warden, who will assist in 
every way possible. Where fines are imposed the 
law requires that they shall be deposited with the 
State Treasurer. The State Fire Warden will request 
the State Comptroller to pay one-half of the amount 
collected as a fine to the fire warden, or other person 
upon whose information the proceedings in which such 
fine was imposed were instituted, but not exceeding 
fifty dollars in any one case. (Blank forms to be 
filled out for this purpose may be obtained from the 
State Fire Warden on application.) 

8. Permits: The purpose of the law requiring 
permits between March 15 and June 1, — September 
15 and November 15 is to lessen fires resulting from 
careless burning of brush in dry seasons when fires 
spread so easily. People who need to make a fire 
should be hindered as little as possible, and anyone 
asking for a permit should be given one unless you 
believe it unsafe to burn. Familiarize yourself 
thoroughly with the 191 1 law. Use the greatest 
judgment and discretion in issuing permits. It is not 
generally necessary to visit personally the place where 
fire is to be kindled. Know your man and understand 
the conditions under which he wants to kindle a fire, 
insist on a sufficient number of men to prevent escape 
of fire, and see that the applicant understands the 
laws in reference to fires. If a long, very dry season 
occurs no permits should be issued until the drought 
is broken. 

When in the judgment of the warden it is not 
practicable to fix the date for a single day, inclusive 



8 

dates may be set allowing two or three days, but the 
applicant should be requested to 'phone the district 
warden the day he burns. A permit to cover one 
season or part of a season is allowable only where 
clearing up and burning brush or rubbish is required 
every few days and this is done by an organized force 
for regular work; for example, owners of large 
farms, water companies, clubs, and lumber companies. 

Do not issue unnecessary permits. Let your neigh- 
bors and others in your district know that no permit is 
needed if a fire is made in a ploughed field, garden 
or public highway not less than 200 feet from wood- 
land, brushland, or field containing dry grass or other 
inflammable material which would communicate the 
fire to woodland. 

Under the law no fees whatsoever can be charged 
applicants for permits to kindle fires in the open air. 
If only a few permits are issued a warden would 
scarcely be justified in making out a bill for the little 
time used in this service. If, however, considerable 
time is required in issuing permits, a bill should be 
prepared at the close of each season stating the actual 
number of hours occupied in discharge of this duty, 
the number of permits issued, the rate per hour and 
total amount. Bills for this service should include 
postage as a separate item if such were used in con- 
nection with mailing permits. 

9. Exemptions from Permit Law: If the town 
fire warden considers that all or a portion of his town 
can safely be exempted from the provisions of Chap. 



128, Sec. 4, Public Acts of 1909 (as amended in 191 1), 
he should make his recommendations in detail to the 
State Fire Warden, if possible prior to March fifteenth 
of the current year. The matter will then be given 
careful consideration and a decision rendered. 

10. Town Patrol: Town fire wardens may 
establish a patrol in their respective towns in seasons 
of drought to watch for and extinguish fires. Such 
a patrol is advisable at places of greatest danger, such 
as along the railroad where the grade is steep and the 
line passes through woodland; tracts of woodland 
where many city and town people go on holidays and 
Sundays, and so on. Plans for such patrol should be 
considered well in advance of the dry season and 
approved by the State Forest Fire Warden. In 
many instances these plans can be carried out in con- 
nection with the State and Federal patrol and the 
lookout stations. 

PREPARATION BEFORE FIRE SEASON. 

11. Districts and Wardens: Town fire wardens 
should at once after appointment plan the division of 
their respective towns into districts. This should be 
done in reference to location and extent of wood- 
land, the special places of danger from fire and the 
place of residence of those who may be appointed 
district wardens. Care should be used in choosing 
district wardens. Those who are honest, will serve 
faithfully and actively, and are so located as to com- 
mand a view of the district should be chosen. If 



10 

practicable, the district warden should be one who 
has a telephone. 

12. All wardens having telephones should have 
their titles inserted in the telephone directory after 
their names, thus, in the Simsbury Exchange : "Eddy, 
E. M. C, Forest Fire Warden, . . 16-14." 

13. Posting Notices: This is one of the duties 
which should precede the fire season, any renewals 
being made that are needed. Such posting can often 
be done in connection with trips to town and elsewhere 
or a day may be devoted specially to this work. 
Towns should be well posted so that none may plead 
ignorance of the law. 

14. Conference of Wardens: It has been found 
helpful for the town and district wardens to meet 
together before the fire season to talk over the work. 
This is often possible at the time of some public 
gathering when all the fire wardens are present. 
Such discussions will make duties clear in the minds 
of all and prevent any possible misunderstanding of 
instructions. The most important object of the con- 
ference is to consider places of fire danger in the 
town, ways of preventing fires and making people 
more careful, kind of equipment needed, methods of 
fighting fire, and, of especial importance, where labor- 
ers can be secured when fires occur. Plans can also 
be made to secure the interest and help of all persons 
having telephones. 

15. Cooperation with Adjoining Towns: A town 
fire warden should know the fire wardens of adjoin- 



II 

ing towns and have an understanding with each in 
reference to fighting boundary line fires so that there 
may be mutual assistance in case of help being 
required. 

16. Equipment: Every town should furnish 
necessary tools and simple apparatus for fighting fires. 
Sufficient equipment in each warden's possession will 
be a means of reducing fire damage and cost of 
fighting. Wardens should give selectmen a receipt 
and be responsible for articles of equipment, and use 
them as carefully as they would their own property. 
Such equipment must be turned in to the town when- 
ever a person ceases to serve as fire warden. Sug- 
gested equipment is as follows: — ^Single and double 
pumps with fire nozzle, galvanized iron buckets, chemi- 
cal extinguishers, shovels and hoes, etc. 

LOOKOUT FOR FIRES. 

17. Each Warden's Duty: Not only should 
wardens be prepared to respond at once to a call to 
fight fire, but should also be on the lookout for smoke 
each day during the dry season. In case fire is seen 
in your district satisfy yourself that it is a fire author- 
ized by permit and in safe hands or go at once, tak- 
ing the necessary assistants. Use the telephone 
whenever available if it will save time or expense. 



* For information concerning fire pumps, see Report of 
State Forester, 1910, Part XI, Report of Conn. Agri. Exp. 
Station, New Haven, Conn. 



12 



18. Lookout Stations: The 191 1 law provides 
that the State Forest Fire Warden may establish and 
equip fire lookout stations, appoint patrolmen, etc. 
One station on Bald Hill in the town of Union was 
tried experimentally in 191 1 and served to show the 
value of such a lookout and cooperation in a group 
of towns for the prevention and control of forest 
fires. Another station has been established on Den- 
nis Hill in the town of Norfolk, and is connected by 
telephone. (Each lookout station established by State 
Fire Warden will appear in telephone directory as 
"Fire Lookout Station, State of Conn.") Suggestions 
in reference to new lookout stations will be gladly 
received by this office. 

It is expected that all wardens and others in towns 
affected will cooperate fully with the patrolman 
appointed to serve at a lookout* station, and wardens 
are directed to follow special instructions to be issued 
for districts thus formed. The patrolmen will locate 
fires, get information on extent of fire, force required, 
etc., and promptly telephone the necessary information 
to a fire warden in accordance with previous plans. 
FIGHTING FIRES. 

19. Warden in Charge: The time to control a 
fire is when it is small. Get to the fire without any 
delay, taking tools and as many assistants as seem 
necessary. If you have made plans in advance you 
will know where to pick up good fire fighters at once 
when fire occurs. Don't summon a large number. 
In most cases a small number of picked men can do 



13 

more than a hundred. You, as warden, should take 
charge and act as a foreman rather than let each man 
fight fire where he pleases. In case of a large fire 
divide your force into crews, designating one man in 
each crew to be foreman. You should go from place 
to place directing the work and seeing that the fire is 
fought at the places most advantageous to control it. 

20. Methods : Conditions at forest fires vary and 
no complete or detailed instructions can be given which 
can be followed literally. Surface fires can usually be 
put out by beating with wet sacks, cedar boughs, wet 
brooms and similar articles. Effective work can be 
done by throwing loose dirt on the advancing flames 
to smother them. By raking or hoeing back the 
leaves, etc., in a line ahead of the fire it can often 
be stopped for lack of material, provided a strong wind 
is not blowing. In loose, sandy soil plowing furrows 
is sometimes practicable to make a protecting line 
where the fire can be fought. 

21. Chemical extinguishers are found to be very 
effective where it is possible to carry them and suffi- 
cient charges for renewal. 

22. The use of water with single or double fire 
pumps is especially recommended. Under very 
adverse conditions this method has proved easy and 
effective. Springs, streams, swamps and water holes 
abound in the state and where water is available no 
method equals the use of the single bucket pump and 
two-man pump. Every town should try out this 
apparatus and make it a part of regular equipment. 



14 



23. The law authorizes wardens to destroy fences, 
plow land, or, in an emergency, set backfires to 
check any forest fire. Backfires must not be set 
indiscriminately. They should be started only at 
natural barriers such as a road or a brook, or a 
thoroughly effective artificial barrier such as a plowed 
strip, etc. A backfire should always burn against the 
wind back toward the main fire. 

24. Finally, a thorough examination of the fire 
line should be made and any dead branches, etc., 
stretching across the line be thrown back into the fire 
and any large burning stubs cut down or fire in them 
extinguished. In case of large -fires one or more 
patrolmen must be left to watch the line to put out 
any blazes which may spring up after the fire is 
supposed to be wholly extinguished. This is some- 
times equally necessary in smaller fires, especially on 
mountain land where the fire creeps through dry moss 
and humus under and among the rocks. 

25. Do not forget to get a full and complete list 
of your laborers at the time of the fire. Do not 
depend on them to report name and number of hours 
later. That is not a business-like way. Where the 
town warden and one or more district wardens are 
present at a large fire, have each district warden make 
his list of men at the time of the fire and hand it 
then, if possible, to the town warden, who is directed 
to make out the bill and report for the whole fire in 
this case. 



ps 






i5 

CO-OPERATION WITH RAILROAD EMPLOYEES. 

26. It is important that wardens should become 
acquainted with railroad section foremen in their dis- 
trict. Talk over fire fighting with them and plan 
methods of cooperating with them in extinguishing 
railroad fires along their sections. Sec. 3, Chap. 114, 
Public Acts of 191 1, indicates the duties of section men 
in reference to railroad fires. Fire wardens should 
not make unreasonable demands upon section men 
under the provision of this act. 

PAY OF WARDENS AND LABORERS. 

27. Town and district wardens receive "thirty- 
five cents per hour for time actually employed at 
forest fires, the prevention thereof, or otherwise 
devoted to the discharge of duties as fire warden." 
A chief of the fire department of any city, while act- 
ing as town fire warden does not receive such compen- 
sation where a regular salary is received by him. 

The rate of pay for laborers at forest fires is not 
to exceed twenty cents per hour. (See Part I, p. 20.) 

SUPPLIES. 

28. All wardens will be supplied direct from this 
office with permit blanks, report and bill forms. 
Forms must not be used for correspondence. Cloth 
warning notices will be sent to town fire wardens to 
be posted by them or their district wardens as town 
wardens may decide. Additional supplies may be 
obtained by sending request by post card to State 
Forest Fire Warden, New Haven, Conn. 



i6 

RECORD OF FOREST FIRES. 

29. Every fire, whether small or large, must be 
reported to the State Fire Warden on blanks (Form C) 
provided for this purpose. Reports must be as com- 
plete as possible, using only the revised form. Infor- 
mation called for on the report blanks can usually be 
secured before leaving the fire while making final 
inspection of the burned land to see that the fire is 
entirely extinguished. When reporting a fire make 
proper entry in each blank space, filling in with a dash 
where item does not apply. Make your own conserva- 
tive estimate of damage caused by the fire in every 
case and enter it in your report. Do this whether the 
owner does or does not intend to claim any damages. 
This information is for the State Fire Warden's office 
and is not given out excepting as it is added to others 
and compiled by towns, counties and for the whole 
state in annual records. Fire wardens have nothing 
to do officially with appraising damages done by a 
fire, except for the reports of the State Forest Fire 
Warden. 

Do not report "Cause of fire unknown" unless a 
reasonable effort has been made to find it out. When- 
ever a fire is attributed to the railroad give details of 
evidence, such as the time a train passed, the distance 
from nearest station, etc. 

All fires are to be reported by the town fire warden 
within two weeks after occurrence. District wardens' 
reports must go to the town fire warden, who will 
sign them and forward to State Forest Fire Warden 
with the bills. 



l 7 

BILLS. 

30. All bills for fire warden expenses must be 
made out on blanks (Form E) furnished by the 
State Forest Fire Warden, and must be accompanied 
by a report of the fire. Instructions to be found at the 
bottom of Form E must be closely followed in pre- 
paring bills. District wardens are directed to send 
bill and report of fire to town fire warden, who will 
examine and O. K., if correct and just, then transmit 
them at once to the State Forest Fire Warden, New 
Haven, Conn. (Town fire wardens are furnished 
return addressed envelopes.) The law requires that 
all bills shall be presented within thirty days after 
services are rendered. Wardens are therefore 
instructed to send bill and report in to the State Fire 
Warden within two weeks after a fire. 

Bills for fires definitely known to originate from the 
railroad are paid by the railroad company (see Chap. 
124, Public Acts of 191 1 ) ; bills for other fires are 
paid by the town (see Chap. 124, Public Acts of 
1911). In filling out Form E for railroad fires the 
heading should be, for example, N. Y., N. H. & H. 

R. R. Co. to (name of fire warden), Dr. 

In filling out Form E for other fires it should be, for 
example, Town of Simsbury to James M. Stocking, 
Fire Warden, Dr. 

All bills must be exact, just and correct, according 
to the law, and itemized (see Part II, p. 46). Make 
a separate bill for each fire. A bill for fighting a fire 
must not be made out against the railroad unless the 



i8 

source of the fire is clearly due to engine sparks, act 
of employee, etc. (see Chap. 114, Public Acts of 
1911). The report accompanying bill for a railroad 
fire must give definite evidence in regard to source 
of fire, otherwise the State Fire Warden cannot 
approve the bill for payment by the railroad company. 

Bills incorrectly made out or containing items not 
conforming to the law will be returned for correction. 
Bills unaccompanied by reports will be held until 
report is received. 

In case of a warden fighting a fire in an adjoining 
town he should make out his bill against that town and 
send it with a report direct to the State Forest Fire 
Warden at New Haven. 



DUTIES OF SELECTMEN. 

Appointment of Forest Fire Warden : The select- 
men are required by law to appoint a town fire warden, 
who shall act for the term of one year under the 
instructions of the State Fire Warden. If this ap- 
pointment is not approved by the State Fire Warden 
the selectmen should make another appointment. 

In towns having a consolidated town and city 
government, where the city limits do not extend to 
the boundaries of the town, the selectmen shall 
appoint a warden to take charge of this outlying 
portion of the town. If the boundaries and limits 
of said town and city are coterminous, the chief of 






i9 

the fire department of the city shall be, ex officio, 
town fire warden, and the selectmen have nothing to 
do with such cases. 

(Blanks, Form A, for the appointment of town 
fire wardens can be secured from this office. For 
the purpose of uniformity of keeping records all 
appointments will date from January I.) 

The selectmen should reappoint efficient, honest, 
capable town fire wardens and not change for political 
or other reasons. If it is necessary to make a new 
appointment great care should be exercised in the 
choice. A town fire warden should be one centrally 
located, who has a telephone, who is interested in pro- 
tection of woodland, is able to organize the work 
effectively, report faithfully, take charge of fire 
fighting when necessary, and one who commands the 
respect of his community. In the absence of town 
and district wardens, the first selectman may act as 
fire warden. 

EQUIPMENT OF WARDENS. 

The selectmen should provide wardens with a rea- 
sonable equipment for the work, such as shovels, hoes, 
bucket-pumps, galvanized iron pails, and chemical 
extinguishers. Towns should also provide a badge 
with the words Fire Warden on it. Wardens should 
give receipt for all equipment and be held responsible 
by the selectmen for proper care and use of articles 
furnished. 



20 

RATE OF PAY OF LABORERS. 

The selectmen, except in towns where the chief 
of the fire department is ex officio town fire warden, 
shall fix the price per hour to be paid to laborers at 
forest fires, employed by the fire wardens or their 
deputies, not exceeding twenty cents per hour, and 
shall give notice thereof to the town fire warden, 
and the State Forest Fire Warden ; but if the select- 
men do not fix said price, the town fire warden 
may pay, at the rate of twenty cents per hour, for 
such services. 

As the work of fighting forest fires is difficult, 
it is recommended that the selectmen fix the rate for 
laborers at twenty cents per hour. 

BILLS FOR FIRE WARDEN SERVICES. 

Under the 191 1 law all bills for fire warden expenses 
must be prepared by wardens within one month of the 
date of service and sent direct to the State Forest 
Fire Warden for examination and record. They will 
then be sent to the selectmen, whose duty it is to pass 
upon these bills. Selectmen should look for the stamp 
"Examined and Recorded, Samuel N. Spring, State 
Forest Fire Warden," on each bill before approving 
for payment. If bills do not have this stamp they 
should be sent at once to State Forest Fire Warden, 
New Haven, Conn. When the bill has been audited 
and approved by the selectmen of the town wherein 
services were rendered and expenses incurred, it shall 
be paid on the order of the selectmen by the town 
treasurer. 



21 

BRUSH CUT ON HIGHWAYS. 

Attention of all selectmen is called to Chap. 2, Pub- 
lic Acts of 191 1, which amends Chap. 277, Public 
Acts of 1905. The original law required the cutting 
annually of brush, etc., within ten feet of the center 
of the main highways in each town. The amendment 
provides that the selectmen shall cause all brush so 
cut to be piled and burned within thirty days there- 
after. 

DUTIES OF MAYORS OF CITIES. 

According to Chap. 136, Public Acts of 1907, amend- 
ing Sec. 5, Chap. 238, Public Acts of 1905, in towns 
having a consolidated town and city government, 
where the boundaries and limits of said town and 
city are coterminous, the mayor of the city shall 
perform all the acts required by this section to be 
performed by the selectmen of towns. That is, he 
shall decide the price to be paid laborers employed 
in fighting forest fires ; shall examine the bills of the 
chief of the fire department acting as town fire 
warden, and if he approves them, and if they have 
previously been examined and recorded by the State 
Fire Warden, these bills shall be paid on his order by 
the city treasurer. 

DUTIES OF JUSTICES. 

According to Sec. 4, Chap. 238, Public Acts of 1905, 
any fire warden may arrest, without a warrant, any 
person or persons taken by him in the act of violating 



22 

any of the laws for the protection of forest and 
timber lands, and bring such persons before a justice 
of the peace, or other magistrate having jurisdiction, 
who shall proceed without delay to hear, try, and 
determine the matter. 

The laws protecting forest and timber lands are: 
Sec. 12 1 8 of the General Statutes, amended by Chap. 
238, Sec. 7, Public Acts of 1905; Sec. 1219; Sec. 
1220; Sec. 1221, amended by Chap. 43, Public Acts of 
1907; Sec. 1222, amended by Chap. 238, Sec. 8, Public 
Acts of 1905; Sec. 3779; Sec. 3780; Sec. 1237, 
amended by Chap. 238, Sec. 9, Public Acts of 1905; 
Sec. 1096; Sees. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, Chap. 128, 
Public Acts of 1909, amended by Chap. 124, Public 
Acts of 191 1. 

Sec. 6 of Chap. 238, Public Acts of 1905, provides 
that all moneys received from fines imposed under 
and by virtue of the provisions of Sees. 1218, 1222, 
and 1237 °f tne General Statutes shall be paid to the 
State Treasurer, and kept by him as a separate fund 
for purposes described in the section. 

Sec. 7, Chap. 128, Public Acts of 1909, as amended 
by Chap. 124, Public Acts of 191 1, provides that money 
received from fines imposed under Sees. 3, 4, of this 
act shall be disposed of as Sec. 6, Chap. 238, provides. 

DUTIES OF PROSECUTING OFFICERS. 

Prosecuting attorneys of cities, and grand jurors in 
towns, can do much for the prevention of forest fires 
by vigorously prosecuting all infringements of the 






23 

laws above mentioned. Convictions with adequate 
fine or imprisonment will tend to lessen criminal care- 
lessness and malicious setting of fires. 

INSTRUCTIONS TO TOWN TREASURERS. 

If a bill of the town fire warden has been examined 
and recorded*by the State Forest Fire Warden and is 
approved by the selectmen of the town wherein 
services were rendered, it shall be paid on the order 
of the selectmen by the town treasurer. (Look for the 
stamp of the State Fire Warden on bill before pay- 
ing.) A copy of each bill so paid shall be sent by 
the town treasurer to the county commissioners of 
the county in which said town is situated, and the 
commissioners shall thereupon draw their order on the 
county treasurer in favor of said town for one-fourth 
of the amount of said bill. Upon the first day of 
June, annually, the town treasurer shall send a state- 
ment with duplicate bills to the State Comptroller 
(blank forms are provided by him), who shall draw 
his order on the State Treasurer in favor of said town 
for one-fourth of the amount of said bill. 

PRESENT CONDITIONS AND NEEDS. 

WHAT THE PUBLIC CAN DO. 

Connecticut has good laws relating to forest fires 
and an excellent fire warden system for extinguish- 
ing fires. This service is now organized in every 
town. Its efficiency has depended largely upon the 
public spirit of the town fire wardens who have been 



24 

appointed for this work and faithfulness in carrying 
out their duties. In some towns lack of interest and 
support by the public have seriously impaired results. 

No one can to-day question the value of systematic 
fire protection work as carried out during the seven 
years following its inauguration in this State. With 
an expenditure of less than a cent an a^cre per year 
an immense amount of valuable woodland has been 
saved from destruction. Greater cooperation by the 
public is, however, necessary to secure better results 
in each town, both in fighting fires and in getting at 
the causes to prevent their occurrence. 

The public is responsible for over two-thirds of 
our fires, chiefly through carelessness and negligence. 
Every citizen should know the laws and should use 
his influence with others to bring about their enforce- 
ment. Carefulness and obedience to law on the part 
of each individual citizen, especially in dry seasons, 
will reduce the number of fires to a minimum. Prompt 
cooperation and assistance by the public when fires 
occur will prevent any great areas being burned over 
with large accompanying losses. 

LAWS EACH ONE SHOULD KNOW. 

Sec. 122 1 of the General Statutes, as amended by 
Public Acts of 1907, provides that no one shall kindle 
a fire, or authorize another to kindle a fire, on his own 
land unless all combustible materials for the space of 
twenty feet have been removed, nor shall any such fire 
be left until extinguished. 



Sees. 1220 and 1221 provide that no person shall 
kindle a tire on public land, without authority, nor 
upon land of another without permission of the 
owner thereof, or his agent. Fires kindled by throw- 
ing down a lighted match, cigar, or other burning 
substance are covered by this act, and any person 
violating this act is liable to a fine of not more than 
five hundred dollars, or imprisonment of not more 
than six months, or both. 

Sees. 1096 and 3779 provide that parties setting 
fire, including railroad companies, are liable for all 
damages caused by such fires. 

Sec. 3780. as amended by Public Acts of 191 1, pro- 
vides that all claims for damages caused by railroads 
shall be given in writing within twenty days after the 
fire, specifying the day of the fire, giving a general 
description of the property- injured, and stating the 
amount claimed as damages. Such notice may be 
given by a letter signed by the claimant or his agent, 
mailed to the superintendent of the railroad, or 
delivered to its station agent at a station in the town 
where the fire occurred. 

Sec. 3 of Chap. 128. Public Acts of 1909, provides 
a maximum penalty- of two hundred dollars fine, or 
imprisonment for six months, or both, for the person 
or his agent who kindles a fire in the open air that 
occasions injury to another. 

Sec. 4 provides that fires for the purposes of burn- 
ing bus eeds. grass, rubbish of any kind between 
the fifteenth day of March and the first day of June 



26 

and the fifteenth day of September and the fifteenth 
day of November shall not be kindled without written 
permission from fire wardens of the district. This 
does not apply to fires in cities, boroughs or districts 
protected by local fire companies, and no permit is 
needed if the fire is in a ploughed field, garden or 
public highway not less than two hundred feet from 
woodland, brushland, or land covered by dry grass or 
other inflammable material. Any person violating this 
law shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars, 
or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. 

Sec. 5, as amended by Public Acts of 191 1, provides 
that whenever the State Fire Warden deems that the 
public safety of a town, or portion of a town, does 
not require the protection provided by Sec. 4, he may 
cause the town warden to post notices to that effect. 
Towns, or parts of towns, so posted are then exempt 
from the operation of this section until March fifteenth 
of the succeeding year. 

Sec. 6 makes backfiring in the absence of a fire 
warden not unlawful if done for the purpose of pro- 
tecting property from threatened and immediate injury 
of a wild fire. (However, the need should in such 
case be very great and immediate, since backfiring 
should be a last resort, unless thoroughly understood 
and conditions are favorable for this method of fight- 
ing fires.) 

The law providing for the appointment of forest 
fire wardens and prescribing their duties is Chap. 
238, Public Acts of 1905 and amendments. This law 






27 

as it now stands (December, 1911), together with 
other Connecticut laws relating to forests, is given in 
full in Part II of this publication. 

WHAT EVERY ONE CAN DO. 

Every resident in a town should know who is his 
town fire warden and who is the district fire warden 
and where he lives. Any one who discovers a fire 
should notify, personally or by telephone, the nearest 
district fire warden or the town fire warden and 
respond promptly to fight fires whenever needed. The 
future productiveness of our woodlands depends on 
keeping fire out. Even small fires do much damage. 
Prompt action will prevent such large fires as have 
occurred in recent dry years. 

In sections where lookout stations are established 
by the State Forest Fire Warden persons having tele- 
phones can assist greatly by giving the station patrol- 
man information he requests about any fires and by 
notifying him promptly of any that are seen. 

Much can be done, both by public and private per- 
sons, for the prevention of forest fires by urging 
prosecution of offenders of the fire laws and by giv- 
ing testimony when cases arise. 

Any information regarding fires or suggestions con- 
cerning the work of forest fire wardens will be wel- 
come and should be addressed to State Forest Fire 
Warden, New Haven, Conn. 



PART II. 



CONNECTICUT LAWS 
RELATING TO FORESTS. 



COMPILED BX 

SAMUEL N. SPRING, 

STATE FORESTER. 



CONNECTICUT LAWS RELATING 
TO FORESTS. 



General Statutes, Sec. 4448. The board state Forester. 
of control of the Connecticut agricultural 
experiment station shall appoint a state 
forester to hold office during the pleasure of 
the board; he shall have an office at the 
experiment station, but shall receive no com- 
pensation, other than his regular salary as a 
member of the station staff. 

Public Acts of iqii, Chap. 227. Sec. i. Assistant 

™« * r 1 r , ^ • • State Forester. 

The board of control of the Connecticut agri- 
cultural experiment station may, in its dis- 
cretion, appoint an assistant state forester, 
to hold office during the pleasure of the board, 
who shall receive no compensation other than 
his regular salary as a member of the station 
staff. 

Sec. 2. Said assistant state forester shall Duties and 
act under direction of the state forester, and As ^stant 
by his direction or in his absence shall exer- state Forester, 
cise the powers and duties of the state forester 
and state forest fire warden. 

Sec. 4449 (as amended by Sec. 3, Chap, state Forester 
132, Public Acts of 1903, and Chap. 115, Pub- ^™*Z for 
lie Acts of 191 1). The state forester may state Forest. 



32 

buy land in the state suitable for the growth 
of oak, pine or chestnut lumber, at a price 
not exceeding eight dollars per acre, to the 
amount of the appropriation for that pur- 
pose, which land shall be deeded to the state 
and shall be called a state forest. He may 
plant such land with seed or seedlings of 
such trees as he may deem expedient, ex- 
change the lands so bought with adjoining 
proprietors, and for and in behalf of the 
state execute deeds for such purpose; fence 
said lands with substantial wire fencing, not 
barbed; protect said lands from forest fires 
and trespassers; preserve the game, fish and 
timber thereon and may employ such local 
assistants as may be necessary. He shall 
state to pay be the custodian of such lands and shall pay 
from the sum biennially appropriated the 
town taxes upon said land when assessed at 
the same rate as similar adjoining lands, and, 
with the approval of the governor and attor- 
ney-general may sell portions of the same, 
when they shall command a greater price than 
cost and interest thereon, and may execute 
a deed thereof, for and in behalf of the state. 

Note. — The amendment of 1903 increased the 
maximum price per acre from $2.50 to $4.00 and 
changed the name from "park" to "forest." The 
191 1 amendment increased the maximum price per 
acre to $8.00. 



taxes to town. 



33 

Sec. 4450. The disbursements of the state Finance, etc. 
forester shall be paid by the comptroller upon 
the audit of the state board of control. 

Public Acts of 1903, Chap. 132, Sec. i. Thinnings. 
The state forester is authorized to make 
thinnings in the woodland of the state forest 
and to take such other measures as he may 
deem necessary to bring about a profitable 
growth of the timber thereon. 

Sec. 2. The state forester is authorized Timber sales, 
to sell wood and timber from the state for- 
est whenever he shall deem such sale desir- 
able, the proceeds of which sales shall be 
used by him for the maintenance and care 
of the forest as specified in this act and in 
section 4449 of the general statutes as hereby 
amended, and he shall render an account of 
the same to the state board of control. 

Sec. 3. (See note page 32.) 

Special Act of 191 i. The following sum Appropriation 
is hereby appropriated to be paid out of any 
money in the treasury not otherwise appro- 
priated, in full compensation for the objects 
hereinafter specified for the two fiscal years 
ending September 30, 19 13 : For the main- 
tenance and improvement of the state forests, 
as authorized by section 4449 of the general 
statutes and amendments thereof and section 
4450 of the general statutes, for protecting 



for State 
Forester. 



34 



Appropriation for 
Purchase of State 
Forests. 



Tree planta- 
tions not taxed. 
1877, 1886, Rev. 
1888, §3825. 



Species 
exempted. 



Number per 
acre. 



Height of trees. 



said forests, for planting and other cultural 
operations, for surveying, for paying taxes 
as required by said section 4449 and amend- 
ments thereof, for the expense of necessary 
assistance, for the dissemination of informa- 
tion to land owners of the state concerning 
forestry, and for conducting scientific experi- 
ments in forestry, three thousand dollars. 

Special Act of 1909, Sec. 2. The sum 
of five thousand dollars is hereby appropriated 
to be paid out of any money in the treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, as a special fund 
for the purchase of state forests as authorized 
by section 4449 of the general statutes, said 
sum to be available until expended by the state 
forester in accordance with the provisions of 
section 4450 of the general statutes. 

General Statutes, Sec. 2320. When any 
person shall plant land not heretofore wood- 
land, the actual value of which, at the time 
of planting, shall not exceed twenty-five dol- 
lars per acre, to timber trees of any of the 
following kinds, to wit: chestnut, hickory, 
ash, white oak, sugar maple, European larch, 
white pine, black walnut, tulip or spruce not 
less in number than twelve hundred to the 
acre, and such plantation of trees shall have 
grown to an average height of six feet, the 
owner of such plantation may appear before 






35 

the board of relief of the town in which such 
plantation is located, and, on proving a com- 
pliance with the conditions herein, such planta- 
tion of trees shall be exempt from taxation Exemption to 

r be 20 years. 

of any kind for a period of twenty years next 
thereafter. 

Public Acts of 191 1, Chap. 205, Sec. i. Tree plantations 

. . , , . . r not taxed, iqii. 

Any tract of land, consisting of one acre or 
more, hereafter planted with forest trees, in 
the proportion of not less than twelve hundred 
trees to the acre, and such planting having 
been approved by the state forester as herein- 
after provided, and such tract being continued 
as a tree plantation, shall be exempt from all 
taxation, from and after the second day of 
October next following such planting, dur- 
ing the continuance of such tract as a wood 
or timber lot; provided, that such exemption 
shall not continue for a period of more than 
twenty years. 

Sec. 2. The exemption provided by this Application of 
act shall not apply to tree plantations exempted prc 
from taxation under the provisions of section 
2320 of the general statutes, and the exemp- 
tion provided by said section 2320 shall not 
apply to tree plantations exempted from taxa- 
tion by the provisions of this act. 

Sec 3. The state forester shall examine state Forester to 
any tree plantation on request of the owner examine lands 

t i_ » 1 ■ • . - . claimed to be 

tnereoi claiming exemption from taxation exe mpt. 



36 



Expense incurred 
by State Forester 
to be paid by 
State. 



Land used for 
water supply 
purposes. 



State to pay 
taxes to town 
on State 
forest lands. 



Geological 
survey. 






thereon under the provisions of this act, and 
if he approve the manner in which trees have 
been planted on such plantation and finds 
that the same complies with the requirements 
of this act, he may issue to such owner a 
certificate to that effect, and, on presentation 
of such certificate to the assessors of the 
town in which such plantation is located, 
said lands shall be exempt from taxation as 
hereinbefore provided. • 



Sec. 4. The expense incurred by the state 
forester in making the examination provided 
for by this act shall, subject to the approval 
of the board of control, be paid by the state. 

Note. — Sec. 2321 provides that land taken by a 
municipality for water supply shall not be taxed 
when the inhabitants of the town in which such land 
is situated have the right to use the water on the 
same terms as the inhabitants of the municipality. 

Note. — In revised statutes, Sec. 4449, it is provided 
that the state forester "shall pay from the sum 
biennially appropriated the town taxes upon said land 
(state forest land) when assessed at the same rate as 
similar adjoining lands." 

Note. — Laws of 1903, Chap. 133, Sec. 2, provides 
that the Geological and Natural History Survey shall 
investigate the economic and educational value of the 
forest resources of the state. 






Arbor day. Note. — Revised Statutes, Sec. 4438, provides that 
the Governor shall annually by proclamation in the 
spring provide for Arbor day and its observance. 



37 

Public Acts of 1905, Chap. 277 (as Brush cut on 
amended by Chap. 2, Public Acts of 191 1). Ey^ectmenTo 
The selectmen in every town shall cause to be be piled and 

, . , 1111 burned within 

cut, at least once in each year, all bushes, thirty days 
trees, and branches of trees growing within thereafter, 
ten feet of the center of the travelled way 
within the limits of the public highways in 
their respective towns, and shall, within thirty 
days thereafter, cause all brush so cut to be 
piled and burned. The term "public high- 
ways" as used in this section shall be con- 
strued to mean and include only the main 
highways leading from one town to another. 

Sec. 1218 of the General Statutes is wuifui firing of 
amended by Chap. 238, Sec. 7, Public Acts timber - 
of 1905, to read as follows: Every person 
who shall set on fire any woods, or stack of 
hay or grain, so as thereby to occasion injury 
to another; * * * * shall, if such act is done 
willfully, be fined not more than one thousand 
dollars, or imprisoned not more than six 
months, or both. 

SEC I219. Every person who shall will- Malicious injury 

£ u a 1 • • 1 t 4.U ' to bridge, lock, 

fully and maliciously burn or otherwise dam or wood, 
destroy or injure any bridge, lock, dam, or 
flume, or any pile or parcel of wood, boards, 
timber, or lumber, of another, shall be fined 
not more than five hundred dollars, or im- 
prisoned not more than seven years, or both. 



38 



Fire on land 
not one's own. 



Caution requir- 
ed in setting 
fires. 



Fires caused by 
lighted match, 
etc. 



Railroads liable 
for damage by 
forest fires com- 
municated by 
railroad engine. 



Sec. i 220. No person shall kindle a fire 
upon public land, without authority, nor upon 
the land of another without permission of the 
owner thereof, or his agent. 

Sec. 1 22 1 (as amended by Chap. 43, Public 
Acts of 1907). No person shall kindle, nor 
authorize another to kindle a fire in his wood- 
land, unless all combustible materials for the 
space of twenty feet surrounding the place 
where said fire is kindled have been removed, 
nor shall any such fire be left until extin- 
guished or safely covered. 

Sec. 1222 (as amended by Chap. 238, Sec. 
8, Public Acts of 1905). Fires kindled by 
throwing down a lighted match, cigar, or 
other burning substance, shall be deemed 
within the provisions of Sees. 1220 and 1221, 
and every person violating any provision of 
said sections shall be fined not more than five 
hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than 
six months, or both. 

Sec. 3779. When property is injured by 
fire communicated by an engine of a railroad 
company, without contributory negligence on 
the part of the person entitled to the care and 
possession of such property, such company 
shall be held responsible in damages to the 
extent of such injury to the person so injured. 
Every such company shall have an insurable 



39 

interest in the property for which it may be 
so held responsible in damages and may 
procure insurance thereon in its own behalf. 

Sec. 3780 (as amended by Chap. 212, Pub- Notice required 

x}/ v j r in c i aim for dam- 

lic Acts of 1911). No action shall be brought ages from fire 

under section 3779 of the general statutes ZZtcImoL. 

unless written notice of the claim is given to 

such company within twenty days after the 

fire, specifying the day of the fire, giving a 

general description of the property injured, 

and stating the amount claimed as damages. 

Such notice may be given by a letter signed 

by the claimant or his agent, mailed to the 

superintendent of the railroad, or delivered 

to its station agent at a station in the town 

where the fire occurred. 

Note. — Public Acts of 191 1, Chap. 114. Expenses Liability of raii- 
of extinguishing woodland and brush fires caused by road companies 

to r fires caused 

sparks of locomotives, etc., to be paid by railroad by sparks from its 
company. (See p. 47.) locomotives, etc. 

Sec. 1237 (as amended by Chap. 238, Sec. Cutting trees on 

■r, , 1 . A , e ..\t-> 1 land of another. 

9, Public Acts of 1905). Every person who 
shall, willfully, and without color of right, 
cut, destroy, or carry away any trees or tim- 
ber of the dimensions of four inches diameter, 
or more, or any hoop-poles standing on the 
land of another, shall be fined not more than 
two hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more 
than ninety days, or both. 



Damage for 
spreading fire. 



Penalty for 
kindling fire in 
the open air 
where same 
results in injury. 



Penalty for kin- 
dling fire outside 
of city or borough 
limits or fire dis- 
trict or land con- 
trolled by rail- 
roads, without 
permit. 



40 

Sec. 1096. Every person who shall set 
fire on any land, that shall run upon the land 
of any other person, shall pay to the owner 
all damages done by such fire. 

Public Acts of 1909, Chap. 128, Sec. 3. 
Every person who shall kindle or authorize 
another to kindle, at any time, a fire in the 
open air, which fire occasions an injury to 
another, shall be fined not more than two 
hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than 
six months, or both. 

Sec. 4 (as amended by Sec. 2, Chap. 124, 
Public Acts of 1911). Every person, except 
as hereinafter provided, who shall kindle or 
authorize another to kindle a fire in the open 
air, outside the limits of any city, borough, or 
fire district,* or land controlled by any rail- 
road company, for the purpose of burning 
bushes, weeds, grass, or rubbish of any kind, 
between the fifteenth day of March and the 
first day of June, and the fifteenth day of 
September and the fifteenth day of November, 
in any year, without first obtaining from the 
fire warden of the district written permission 
stating when and where such fire may be kin- 
dled, shall be fined not more than two hundred 

* Refers to organized fire district provided for 
under Sees. 1998 and 1999, General Statutes, and 
not forest fire district under the charge of district 
fire warden. 






4i 

dollars, or imprisoned not more than six 
months, or both; provided, that such permis- Exception, 
sion shall not be required for the kindling of 
a fire in a ploughed field, garden, or public 
highway, at a distance of not less than two 
hundred feet from any woodland, brushland, 
or field containing dry grass or other inflam- 
mable material. 

Sec. 5 (as amended by Sec. 3, Chap. 124, Exemptions from 
Public Acts of 1911). Whenever the state cerningkindHng 
fire warden shall deem that the public safety of fires - 
of any town or portion of a town of this 
state does not require the protection provided 
by section four of this act, he may cause the 
town fire warden of any such town to post 
notices to that effect in conspicuous places, 
not less than five in each town, or two in each 
fire district.* Whenever such notices have 
been posted, each town or the designated 
portion thereof so affected shall be exempt 
from the operation of the provisions of sec- 
tion four of this act until the fifteenth day of 
March of the next succeeding year. 

Sec. 6. In the absence of any fire warden Backfiring, when 
to take control of a wild fire, it shall not be P ermissible - 
unlawful for any person to kindle a fire at 
any time on his own land, public land, or the 

♦Refers to forest fire district. — (See Public Acts 
of 1905, Chap. 238, Sec. 3.) 



42 



Disposition of 
fines. 



land of another with the consent of the 
owner or occupant thereof, for the purpose 
of backfiring to protect property from the 
threatened and immediate injury of a wild 
fire. 

Sec. 7 (as amended by Sec. 4, Chap. 124, 
Public Acts of 1911). All moneys received 
from fines imposed under and by virtue of the 
provisions of sections three and four of this 
act shall be paid to the state treasurer, and 
shall form a part of the fund provided for in 
section six of chapter 238 of the public acts 
of 1905, and shall be disbursed in the same 
manner as is provided in said section six. 

Public Acts of 1905, Chap. 238, Sec. i.f 
The state forester shall be, ex officio, state 
forest fire warden, and shall receive no 
additional compensation therefor, but shall 
receive his necessary traveling and other 
expenses, to be paid in the manner provided 
for in section 4450 of the general statutes. 

Duties. Sec. 2. Said forest fire warden shall have 
supervision of town fire wardens, shall instruct 
them in their duties, enforce the law as to 
fire districts in towns, issue such regulations 

f In the absence of the State Forester or by his 
direction the assistant state forester shall exercise 
the powers and duties of state forester and state 
forest fire warden. (See p. 31.) 



State Forester 
to be 

State Forest 
Fire Warden. 



43 

and instructions to the town and district fire 
wardens as he may deem necessary for the 
purposes of this act, and cause violations 
of the laws regarding forest fires to be 
prosecuted. 

Sec. 3 (as amended by Public Acts of 1907, selectmen to 

- 1 1 i-» 1 1 • a r appoint town 

Chap. 136, and by Public Acts of 1909, firewardens. 

Chap. 19 and 128). The selectmen of any 

town, except as hereinafter provided, shall, 

upon the request of the state forest fire warden 

and with his concurrence, appoint a town fire 

warden who shall act for the term of one 

year, or until his successor shall have been 

appointed, under the instructions of said 

state warden. When required by the state 

warden, such town fire warden shall, and 

any such town fire warden may, establish two 

or more fire districts in the town for which 

he is appointed, and appoint a resident of District wardens. 

such district as district fire warden; in the 

absence of town and district fire wardens, the 

first selectman may act as fire warden. In 

towns having a consolidated town and city 

government where the boundaries and limits 

of said town and city are coterminous, the 

chief of the fire department of the city shall dept. in cities. 

be, ex officio, town fire warden and shall 

possess all the powers and be subject to all 

the duties provided by this act, under the 

supervision of the state forest fire warden. 



44 



Duties of town 
and district 
fire wardens. 



Arrest without 
warrant. 



Patrol. 



Measures of 
preventing fire. 



May summon 
assistance. 



Sec. 4 (as amended by Public Acts of 
1907, Chap. 136). Town and district fire 
wardens shall prevent and extinguish forest 
fires in their respective towns, and enforce 
all statutes of this state now in force or that 
may hereafter be enacted for the protection 
of forest and timber land from fire, and they 
shall have control and direction of all per- 
sons and apparatus while engaged in extin- 
guishing forest fires, outside the limits of 
boroughs. Any fire warden may arrest, 
without a warrant, any person or persons 
taken by him in the act of violating any of 
the said laws for the protection of forest and 
timber lands, and bring such person or per- 
sons forthwith before a justice of the peace 
or other magistrate having jurisdiction, who 
shall proceed without delay to hear, try, and 
determine the matter. During a season of 
drouth the town fire warden may establish a 
fire patrol in the town, and in case of fire in 
or threatening any forest or woodland the 
town and district fire wardens shall attend 
forthwith, and use all necessary means to 
confine and extinguish such fire. The said 
fire wardens may destroy fences, plow land, 
or, in an emergency, set backfires to check 
any fire. They may summon any male resi- 
dent of the town between the ages of eighteen 
and fifty years to assist in extinguishing fires, 



45 

and may also require the use of horses and 
other property needed for such purpose; 
any person so summoned and who is physically 
able who refuses or neglects to assist or to 
allow the use of horses, wagons or other 
material required, shall be liable to a penalty 
of not less than five dollars nor more than 
one hundred dollars. No action for trespass 
shall lie against any person crossing or work- 
ing upon lands of another to extinguish fire. 
Sec. 5 (as amended by Public Acts of 1907, 
Chap. 136, and by Public Acts of 1909, Chap. 
128, Sees. 1 and 2, and by Sec. 1, Chap. 124, 
Public Acts of 1911). The town and dis- 
trict fire wardens shall receive thirty-five and expenses for 
cents per hour for time actually employed at extinguishing or 

r . preventing forest 

forest fires or in the prevention thereof, or fires, how paid, 
otherwise devoted to discharge of duties as 
fire warden, but the chief of the fire depart- 
ment of any city, while acting as town fire 
warden under this act, shall not receive such 
compensation in cases where a regular salary 
is received by him. The selectmen, except in 
towns having a consolidated town and city 
government as hereinafter provided, shall 
fix the compensation, not exceeding twenty 
cents per hour, to be paid to laborers at 
forest fires, employed by the fire wardens or 
their deputies, and shall give notice thereof to 
the town fire warden and the state forest fire 



Compensation 



4 6 



Bills submitted to 
State Forest Fire 
Warden for ex- 
amination and 
record; returned 
to Selectmen for 
audit ; paid by 
town treasurer. 



Bills for extin- 
guishing fires in 
adjoining town. 



warden; but if the selectmen neglect to fix 
such compensation the town fire warden may 
pay at the rate of twenty cents per hour for 
such services. Said wardens shall prepare 
their bills for services rendered by them and 
by the men, teams, and other apparatus em- 
ployed by them as provided by this act, within 
one month of the date of such services, which 
bills shall show in detail the amount and char- 
acter of the services performed, the exact 
duration thereof, and all disbursements made 
by said wardens ; said bills shall be submitted 
to the state forest fire warden for examination 
and record and shall be returned by him to 
the selectmen of the town wherein the services 
were rendered and expenses incurred, and 
upon approval by the selectmen said bill shall 
be paid by the town treasurer. Whenever a 
fire warden, either alone or with assistants, 
engages in extinguishing a fire in a town 
adjoining his own, he shall prepare his bill 
against the town in which such services were 
rendered, and, if correct, it shall, after being 
submitted to the state forest fire warden and 
approved by the selectmen, be paid by the 
treasurer of the town in which the fire 
occurred. A copy of each bill so paid by the 
treasurer of any town, under the provisions 
of this section, shall be sent by said treasurer 
to the county commissioners of the county in 
which the town is situated, and the commis- 



47 

sioners shall thereupon draw their order on 
the county treasurer in favor of said town 
for one-fourth of the amount of such bill. 
A statement, upon blanks furnished by the 
comptroller, with duplicate bills, showing the 
amount paid by such town as aforesaid during 
the preceding year shall be sent by the county and state 

G3.f*h t)G£LT one* 

town treasurer to the state comptroller on the quar ter of the 
first day of June, annually, and he shall there- expense. 
upon draw his order on the state treasurer 
in favor of such town for one-fourth of 
said amount. In towns having a consolidated 
town and city government, where the boun- 
daries and limits of said town and city are 
coterminous, the mayor and treasurer of the 
city shall perform all the acts required by 
this section to be performed, respectively, by 
the selectmen and treasurers of towns. 

Public Acts of 1911, Chap. 114, Sec. i. Railroad com- 
Any railroad company which, through any ^enVesof 5 ^/ 
act of its employees or agents, by sparks from tinguishing fires 
its locomotives, or otherwise, sets fire to trees, motive sparks™ 
brush, or grass on lands outside the right of etc. 
way of such company shall be liable to the 
town or city in which such fire occurs for the 
lawful expenses incurred by such town or 
city in extinguishing such fire. 

r* a t 11 -l Fire Warden to 

Sec. 2. A bill for such expenses shall be render bm for ex- 
rendered by the local fire warden having penses of extin- 

. . r guishing railroad 

charge of the extinguishing of such fire, in nres . 



48 



Duty of Section 
foreman with 
regard to fires. 



Special fund. 



accordance with the provisions of chapter 238 
of the public acts of 1905 and amendments 
thereof, and, upon approval of such bill by the 
state forest fire warden, and upon presenta- 
tion thereof to the chief engineer of the rail- 
road company liable for such expenses under 
the provisions of section one of this act, 
such expenses shall be paid by said railroad 
company. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of every sec- 
tion foreman employed by a railroad com- 
pany, upon the discovery of any fire, in the 
section under his jurisdiction, for which said 
company is liable under the provisions of sec- 
tion one of this act, to summon necessary 
assistance, proceed to the fire and extinguish 
it, and to give such assistance to the town 
or district fire warden as may, from time to 
time, be requested by such warden. 

Sec. 4. This act shall take effect from its 
passage. 

Approved June 28, 191 1. 

Public Acts of 1905, Chap. 238, Sec. 6. 
All moneys received from fines imposed 
under and by virtue of the provisions of 
sections 1218, 1222 and 1237 of the general 
statutes shall be paid to the state treasurer 
and kept by him as a separate fund, to be 
paid out by him upon the requisition of the 



49 

state forest, fire warden, for use in connec- 
tion with and the prevention and suppression 
of forest fires, and such disbursements shall 
be audited by the state board of control as 
provided in section 4450; provided, that the 
state forest fire warden shall pay one-half 
of the amount collected as a fine to the fire Reward for in- 

1,1 1 . r formation. 

warden or other person upon whose informa- 
tion the proceedings in which such fine was 
imposed and instituted, but not exceeding 
fifty dollars in any one case. 

Note. — Sec. 7 amended Sec. 1218 of the General 
Statutes by increasing the fine of two hundred dol- 
lars to one thousand dollars. 

Note. — Sec. 8 amended Sec. 1222 of the General 
Statutes by increasing the fine from fifty dollars to 
five hundred dollars and the imprisonment from 
thirty days to six months. 

Note. — Sec. 9 amended Sec. 1237 of the General 
Statutes by increasing the fine from twenty dollars 
to two hundred dollars. 

Sec. 10. The town and district fire war- Posting of 
dens shall post such notices, containing the 
state laws concerning fires, as the state fire 
warden may prepare, and any person who 
willfully or maliciously tears down or de- 
stroys any such notice shall be fined ten 
dollars. 

Sec. 11. All acts or parts of acts incon- inconsistent 
sistent with the provisions of this act are laws re P ealed - 
hereby repealed. 



5o 



Power of state 
forest fire warden 
with regard to 
control and pre- 
vention of forest 
fires. 



Patrolmen may 
arrest without 
warrant. 



Disbursements of 
state forest fire 
warden, how paid. 



Public Acts of 191 i, Chap. 292, Sec. i. 
The state forest fire warden may take such 
action as he may deem necessary to provide 
for the prevention and control of forest fires 
in groups of towns, and is hereby authorized 
to enter into an agreement with the secretary 
of agriculture of the United States, under 
authority of the act of congress of March, 
191 1, for the protection of the forested water- 
sheds of navigable streams in this state. 
Said state forest fire warden may appoint 
patrolmen, who shall receive not more than 
twenty-five cents per hour for time actually 
employed, and may establish and equip fire 
lookout stations and furnish necessary equip- 
ment for such patrolmen. 

Sec 2. Any patrolman appointed for such 
purpose by said state forest fire warden may 
arrest, without warrant, any person taken by 
him in the act of violating any of the laws 
of this state for the protection of forest 
and timber lands. 

Sec 3. The disbursements of the state 
forest fire warden in carrying out the purposes 
of this act shall be paid by the state from the 
appropriation for fire wardens. 

Sec 4. This act shall take effect from its 
passage. 

Approved, September 26, 191 1. 



INDEX 



Note. — Numbers in heavy face indicate pages in the 
Laws, Part II. 

Page 
Appointments: 

State Forester 31, 42 

Assistant State Forester 31 

State Forest Fire Warden 42 

Town Fire Wardens 3, 18, 19, 43 

District Fire Wardens 4, 9, 43 

State Patrolmen 50 

Appropriations 33, 34 

Arbor Day 36 

Arrest and Prosecution 5, 7, 21, 23 

" without WaTrant 5, 44, 50 

Assistance, Compulsory 5, 44, 45 

Assistant State Forester 31, 42 

Backfiring 14, 41, 42 

Badges 19 

Bills for Fighting Fires 17, 18, 20, 23, 46, 47 

In i\djoining Town 18, 46 

Railroad Fires 39, 47, 48 

Reimbursement 47 

Blanks and Forms 15 

Brush Cut on Highway 21, 37 

Cities and Towns — Coterminous 4, 18, 19, 21, 43 

Non-Coterminous 18 

Conference of Wardens 10 



52 

Page 

Cooperation: 

Lookout Stations 12 

Between Towns 10, 11 

Public 23, 24, 27 

Railroads 15 

U. S. Secretary of Agriculture 50 

Cutting Timber on Another's Land 39 

Damages — General 16, 25, 40 

Railroad Fires 38, 39 

Districts, Forest Fire 3, 4, 9, 43 

Disbursement of State Forester — How Paid 33 

Equipment II, 13, 19 

Expenses of State Forester and State Forest Fire 

Warden 36, 42 

Fines, Disposition of 7, 22, 42, 48, 49 

Fire Department Chiefs of Coterminous Cities and 

Towns 4, i5> 18, 19, 43 

Fires: 

Adjoining Towns 46 

Authorized: Caution enjoined 24, 38 

Caused by Lighted Match, etc 5, 38 

Fighting 12, 13, 14 

Incendiary 37 

Injuring Others 40 

Permits Required 40, 41 

Railroad 38, 39, 47, 48 

Records and Reports 16 

Unauthorized 25, 38 

Forest Resources, Investigation of 36 

Injury, Malicious 37 

Insurance by Railroad Companies on Adjoining 

Land 38, 39 

Laborers at Fire, List of 14 

Lookout Stations 12 

Notices, Posting 5, 6, 10, 26, 49 






53 

Page 
Patrol: 

Town 5, 9, 14, 44 

State 9, 50 

Pay of Wardens and Assistants 15, 20, 45, 46 

Penalties in Reference to Fires ..... .25, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 

Permits for Kindling Fires 5, 7, 8, 9, 40, 41 

Plantations Exempt from Taxation 34, 35, 36 

Prevention of Fires 5, 6, 44 

Purchase of Land 31, 32, 34 

Railroads: 

Bills 17, 18, 48 

Cooperation 15, 48 

Damages 38, 39 

Fires 15, 17 

Section Men to Assist Wardens 48 

Records and Reports 16 

Reimbursement by State and County to Town .... 47 

Reward for Information 49 

State Forester 31, 42 

State Forest Fire Warden 42, 43, 50 

State Forests: 

Appropriations 33, 34 

Management 32, 33 

Purchase 31, 32, 34 

Sale or Exchange 32 

Taxation of 32 

Thinning 33 

Timber Sales 33 

Supplies 15 

Survey, Geological 36 

Taxation, Exemption from 34, 35, 36 

Telephones 10 



54 

Page 
Wardens: 

Appointments 3, 4, 9, 18, 19, 43 

Badges 19 

Conference 10 

Cooperation 10, 11, 12, 15 

Districts 3, 4, 9, 10 

Duties 4, 44, 49 

Lookout 11 

Pay 15, 45 

Powers 4 

Supplies 15 

Telephones 10 






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